iRevo Smart PC review: Don’t buy that cheap PC, just convert your TV

We reviewed the iRevo Smart TV box, which lets you access web videos and other files on your old television. But iRevo has more tricks up its sleeve. The company also has a smart PC box that looks just like the smart TV box, but does much more than the latter.

iRevo Smart PC
As I said, the iRevo Smart PC looks just like the entertainment hub from the company. But instead of an air remote, this one comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. Also this has a completely different UI from the other box. So, it can be a full computer in more ways than one. In fact, the only thing lacking here is the monitor.

Yes, you can use the Smart PC to do pretty much everything that you would you use a computer for.
Plugged into my 40-inch LED TV, I tried to use the Smart PC to do a lot of things from browsing to writing a mail and opening files from a pen drive. The Smart PC had no issues executing most of the tasks.

The best things about this PC is that it has been envisaged to work on a large screen, and not a computer monitor. In fact, you will struggle with this interface on any screen that is under 27 inches. The tile format used makes it easy to access and navigate through the content, when you are sitting a few feet away from the television television and using a wireless mouse and keyboard. After a few minutes, I had forgotten the fact that I was not using a computer and was in fact, multitasking on my 40 inch flat screen television.

The apps have been neatly segregated and you can go to the scroll at the bottom of the screen to open a particular set like games or entertainment. However, at the end of the day this is just an Android box, and not a Windows PC, so there will be limitations to what you can do.

Can this replace a PC?

Tough one. I think the Smart PC is a good option for homes with young children or older people who need to access the Internet once in a while. It is certainly not for power users and this PC makes no such claims. Also, you will need to invest in a good monitor to start using it as a full PC, as there is a limit to how much you can work on a TV screen. And if you are spending more money to buy a monitor this will defeat the purpose as the cost could go beyond that of a normal assembled PC, which will be much more powerful.

Should you buy?

Yes, if you are looking to make your TV smart. Since this does more than entertainment, it seems a better bet for the price at the moment. Also, it needs to be said, that the keyboard and mouse that come in the box are really good and make working on this set-up real easy.